Protein adsorption onto diethylaminoethyl dextran modified anion exchanger:Effect of ionic strength and column behavior

Our previous studies on bovine serum albumin （BSA） adsorption to diethylaminoethyl dextran （DEAE dextran, DexD, grafting-ligand） and DEAE （D, surface-ligand） modified Sepharose FF resins found that all the grafted resins （FF-DexD and FF-D-DexD） exhibited extremely fast uptake rate （effective diffusivity, De, De/Do 〉 1.4）, which was six times greater than the ungrafted resins （De/Do 〈 0.3）. In this work, the influence of ionic strength （IS） on 6 typical DEAE dextran-grafted resins was investigated. Bath adsorption equilibria and kinetics, breakthrough, and linear gradient elution experiments were conducted. Commercial DEAE Sepharose FF was used for comparison. It is found that protein adsorption capacities on DEAE dextran-FF resins and the commercial resin decreased with increasing IS, but DEAE dextran-FF resins exhibited much higher capacity sensitivity to salt concentration. Besides, steeper decrease of adsorption capacities could be obtained at higher graftingligand or surface-ligand density. It is worth noting that the facilitating role of surface-ligand to the ＂chain delivery＂ effect was weakened after adding salt, leading to the less improvement in uptake rate by increasing surface-ligand density at higher IS. Although the uptake rates of the DEAE dextran-FF resins increased first and then decreased with increasing fS, they kept the extremely high level of De values （De/Do 〉 1.1 ） at the their working/binding IS range. Moreover, the DEAE dextran-FF resin displayed much higher adsorption capacities and De values than commercial ungrafted resin in their working condition. Furthermore, the column results of DEAE dextran-FF resins presented higher dynamic binding capacities than and similar elution ISs with DEAE Sepharose FF to achieve similar （or even higher） recoveries suggest the excellent chromatographic column performance of the DEAE dextran-FF resins. Finally, both high recovery and purity of BSA and γ-globulin could be easily achieved using the typical DEAE dextran-FF column, FF-D60-DexD160, to separate their binary mixtures, by step gradient elution. The research has provided new insights into the practical application of the series of DEAE-dextran grafted resins in protein chromatography and proved their superiority.

Bionic structure of shark's gill jet orifice based on artificial muscle

Based on the biological prototype characteristics of shark’s gill jet orifice,the flexible driving characteristics of ionic exchange polymer metal composites(IPMC)artificial muscle materials and the use of sleeve flexible connector,the IPMC linear driving unit simulation model is built and the IPMC material-driving dynamic control structure of bionic gill unit is developed.Meanwhile,through the stress analysis of bionic gill plate and the motion simulation of bionic gill unit,it is verified that various dynamic control and active control of the jet orifice under the condition of different mainstream field velocities will be taken by using IPMC material-driving.Moreover,the large-deflection deformation of bionic gill plate under dynamic pressure and the comparative analysis with that of a rigid gill plate is studied,leading to the achievement of approximate revised modifier from real value to theoretical value of the displacement control of IPMC.

Nanocomposite Membranes based on Perfl uorosulfonic Acid/Ceramic for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Perfl uorosulfonic acid/ceramic nanocomposite membranes were investigated as electrolytes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell applications under low relative humidity. Different nanosized ceramics（SiO2, ZrO2, TiO2） with diameters in the range of 2-6 nm were synthesized in situ in Nafion solution through a sol-gel process and the formed nanosized ceramics were well-dispersed in the solution.The nanocomposite membranes were formed through a casting process. The nanocomposite membrane showes enhanced water retention ability and improved proton conductivity compared to those of pure Nafi on membrane. The mechanical strength of the formed nanocomposite membranes is slightly less than that of pure Nafi on membrane. The experimental results demonstrate that the polymer ceramic nanocompsite membranes are potential electrolyte for fuel cells operating at elevated temperature.

Diffusion analysis and modeling of kinetic behavior for treatment of brine water using electrodialysis process

In this study,the removal of monovalent and divalent cations,Nat,Kt,Mg2t,and Ca2t,in a diluted solution from Chott-El Jerid Lake,Tunisia,was investigated with the electrodialysis technique.The process was tested using two cation-exchange membranes:sulfonated polyether sulfone cross-linked with 10%hexamethylenediamine(HEXCl)and sulfonated polyether sulfone grafted with octylamine(S-PESOS).The commercially available membrane Nafion®was used for comparison.The results showed that Nafion®and S-PESOS membranes had similar removal behaviors,and the investigated cations were ranked in the following descending order in terms of their demineralization rates:Nat>Ca2t>Mg2t>Kt.Divalent cations were more effectively removed by HEXCl than by monovalent cations.The plots based on the WebereMorris model showed a strong linearity.This reveals that intra-particle diffusion was not the removal rate-determining step,and the removal process was controlled by two or more concurrent mechanisms.The Boyd plots did not pass through their origin,and the sole controlling step was determined by film-diffusion resistance,especially after a long period of electrodialysis.Additionally,a semi-empirical model was established to simulate the temporal variation of the treatment process,and the physical significance and values of model parameters were compared for the three membranes.The findings of this study indicate that HEXCl and S-PESOS membranes can be efficiently utilized for water softening,especially when effluents are highly loaded with calcium and magnesium ions.

Electrical control of antiferromagnetic metal up to 15 nm

Manipulation of antiferromagnetic(AFM) spins by electrical means is on great demand to develop the AFM spintronics with low power consumption. Here we report a reversible electrical control of antiferromagnetic moments of FeMn up to 15 nm, using an ionic liquid to exert a substantial electric-field effect. The manipulation is demonstrated by the modulation of exchange spring in[Co/Pt]/FeMn system, where AFM moments in FeMn pin the magnetization rotation of Co/Pt. By carrier injection or extraction,the magnetic anisotropy of the top layer in FeMn is modulated to influence the whole exchange spring and then passes its influence to the [Co/Pt]/FeMn interface, through a distance up to the length of exchange spring that fully screens electric field. Comparing FeMn to IrMn, despite the opposite dependence of exchange bias on gate voltages, the same correlation between carrier density and exchange spring stiffness is demonstrated. Besides the fundamental significance of modulating the spin structures in metallic AFM via all-electrical fashion, the present finding would advance the development of low-power-consumption AFM spintronics.